2023 Zambezi Golf Donation Recipient

 My name is Takawira Chatambudza. Originally from Zimbabwe, I am a 3rd year PhD candidate in History at the University of Calgary under the supervision of Professor Tim Stapleton. My research analyzes the military operations of the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) the armed wing of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) against the Rhodesian white minority regime from 1963 to 1979. It focuses on its recruitment, training,  organization, and deployment into the operational theaters in then Southern Rhodesia now Zimbabwe. Furthermore, it pays attention to the evolution, development, and transformation of ZIPRA's operational art that determined its strategic and tactical capabilities during the period under study. Thus, my research paper provides a groundbreaking analysis of an important area that has been underexplored by previous generations of historians. 

 My research is a significant historiographical intervention to ongoing studies of the liberation war of Zimbabwe. Very little attention has been paid to the contribution of ZIPRA to the armed struggle that led to the independence of Zimbabwe in 1980. For the past four decades, both the official and academic history of Zimbabwe has been premised on the contribution of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and its armed wing the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA). Consequently, ZAPU and ZIPRA have been obliterated from the expanding discourses. By and large, this research casts some light on the recalibrated ZANU-PF authoritarian regime under the presidency of Emmerson Mnangagwa (2017-current) that seems to elevate former ZAPU and ZIPRA cadres to high posts in government departments.

I would like to express my profound gratitude to Zambezi Golf Club for this donation that was of tremendous help to my oral and archival research trips. I managed to travel from Harare to Bulawayo where I found some important institutions such as Joshua Nkomo Museum, Dumiso Dabengwa Foundation, Mafela, and Heritage Trusts where I accessed important primary sources. In addition, I managed to travel to different parts of Zimbabwe where I met numerous ZIPRA ex-combatants for oral interviews. Many thanks for this donation that went a long way to cushion me from financial setbacks that came when I was robbed at knifepoint during some of my field trips in Bulawayo.

 Thank you.  

  I am Chisara Agoha, a third-year doctoral candidate in African History at the University of Calgary. My doctoral research traces the growth of prostitution in colonial and post-colonial southeastern Nigeria. The period between 1900  and 1980 saw the accentuation of prostitution, which was promoted by colonial policies that impoverished southeastern Nigerian women and motivated them to enter prostitution for survival. In the post-colonial period, the colonial legacy of unequal economic opportunities between men and women and the Nigerian Civil War between 1967-1970 caused the increased migration of women from rural areas into southeastern cities such as Aba and Onitsha for prostitution in the absence of job opportunities. 

  Southeastern Nigeria is an economically viable region with some of Nigeria’s biggest markets and industries. Owing to its viability, it has become an essential region for researching prostitution. While prostitution in the southwestern Nigerian city of Lagos has attracted much scholarly attention, limited attention has been devoted to prostitution in southeastern Nigeria. My research fills the historiographical gap on prostitution in Nigeria by illuminating the factors that economically disempower women and push them into prostitution.  

  Research is financially demanding as my research will involve gathering colonial records from the National Archives in Nigeria at Enugu and Ibadan and the National Archives at Kew in the United Kingdom.  This makes it imperative to thank the Zambezi Golf Tournament immensely for their kind donation towards funding my research. This donation helped cushion the costs of travelling to Nigeria, where my research will be conducted.

I appreciate your support.

My name is Gorata Sello. I’m a 3rd year Ph.D. candidate from Botswana, studying at the University of Calgary, History Department. My research is on the refugee movement in colonial and post-colonial Southern Africa and it focuses on the use of Botswana as a safe haven by political and civilian refugees from bordering countries between 1948 and 1999. The time frame allows the study to assess the impact of white minority rule in Southern Africa, particularly Namibia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Because there was a peaceful and negotiated transition of power from the British administration to Batswana, Botswana became a safe haven for the majority of Africans who were oppressed in the region

Why is this important? There are not enough scholarly works on the refugee problem in Botswana, especially during the liberation wars in Southern Africa. Most accounts focus on prominent political figures, who transited through Botswana (such as Nelson Mandela, Samora Machel), and their role in the liberation of Southern Africa. This study, using the voices and accounts of unsung heroes, aims to portray a bottom-up approach to the refugee crisis in Botswana. By so doing, it also emphasizes the role of ordinary Batswana in the liberation of the sub-continent. 

I would like to take this opportunity to show gratitude to the Zambezi Golf Tournament organizers, sponsors, and participants for the generous donation they made to the U of C History Department. As this year’s beneficiary, I am able to use the donation to fund my research trips around Botswana and to parts of South Africa, where Southern African liberation movement files are achieved. Once again, thank you so much. This initiative will go a long way in supporting and aiding research by African History graduate students.  

 Thank you.